


Family Bonds

by Faith280



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Deals with a complicated pregnancy, F/F, M/M, mentions of autism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-21
Updated: 2020-02-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:07:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 15,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22825348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faith280/pseuds/Faith280
Summary: Despite having two great adopted daughters, Dr. Grey feels the family is ready for a new baby, and that Wash is the perfect choice for the father. Carolina and Wash disagree with the idea, but Dr. Grey is positive that everything will be fine...
Relationships: Dr. Grey/Carolina, Grif/Simmons, Washington/Tucker
Comments: 12
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was a Saturday evening, and Carolina just finished a hectic double shift at the hospital. She reached for the doorknob, wanting nothing else but to soak in a hot bath, she was exhausted. She secretly loved these busy shifts, after a busy military life, she needed to stay active.

She turned the doorknob, that was weird, it was locked. “Hmm, guess Emily finally listened to me and remembered to keep the door locked. Usually she leaves the damn door hanging open.”

She dropped her medical bag by the couch by the couch. The house was so quiet, there were no signs of her wife or their two little girls. Their German Shepherd Epsilon, didn’t even bark. “Hello, is anyone home?” She heard nothing. “Where the hell is everyone?”

As she made her way to the bedroom, she heard the kids giggling. She looked in the doorway, her two little girls, Maddie and Allie were playing with Epsilon. He looked up when he saw Carolina and wagged his tail. He had a large pink ribbon clipped to the top of his head, he looked so proud.

She fought the urge to laugh about it. “What in the world are you guys doing to that poor dog?” She leaned down to pet him. “Some grand German Shepherd you turned out to be.”

Since adopting Epsilon from the animal shelter, he had been nothing but patient and loving to the kids. He loved everyone, but Maddie was his one special human. He was now officially certified as her emotional support dog and was allowed to follow her everywhere.

Severe abuse at the hands of her birth parents left Maddie painfully shy and afraid of everything, since adopting Epsilon, her confidence was sky high. She could finally sleep at night without having severe night terrors. She was slowly learning how to be a normal two year old, all thanks to her best friend.

Maddie looked up at Carolina with her big, blue eyes and smiled sweetly. “We’re playin’ beauty salon and Epseelon is our first customer.”

One year old Allie tried to mimic her sister. “Hi Mommy, it’s a beauty salon!”

Carolina smiled at them, this had to be Emily’s idea, there was no other way the kids knew what a beauty salon even was. “Oh are you? Where’s your Mom at?”

Maddie pointed to the bathroom. “She’s in there coloring, and we promised to play with Epseelon and be good for her.”

Allie giggled. “Yeah, we’re being good Mommy.”

Carolina frowned, Maddie was not the most reliable for getting information. “I’m glad you girls are being good, but what in the world is your Mom coloring?”

Grey stepped through the bathroom door with freshly bleached hair. “I’m coloring myself. Ta-da, what do you think of it guys?”

Allie laughed. “Momma’s pretty!”

Carolina looked at her in shock. Her normally short, brown hair was now a platinum blonde that was lighter than Maddie’s golden curls. “Oh my god, what did you do?”

Grey was determined to keep her positivity. “I wanted to know if it was true and blondes have more fun.” She turned to her oldest daughter. “What do you think Maddie?”

Maddie smiled. “I dunno, I like red hair better, just like Mommy’s and Allie’s.”

Grey pretended to be lost in thought. “Well, if the platinum hair doesn’t work out for me, I could always try red next…”

Carolina’s glare stopped her. “Don’t even think about it. Dye it back to your original color, you look hideous with it that light.”

Grey tried to look insulted before nodding in agreement. “Yeah, I kinda realized that. I’ll spend the rest of today as a blonde, I’ll darken it up tomorrow. It’s only hair, it’s not like it’s plastic surgery.” She checked her face in the mirror. “Maybe I should have something done about the lines on my face. I feel so old.”

“Stop it, you look fine.” Carolina stood behind her with her hands on her shoulders. “What’s all these changes about lately?”

Grey shook her head as she tried to change the subject. “Nothing, life’s good.” She looked like she would cry. She reached her hands out to the kids. “C’mon girls, you can help me make supper.” 

Epsilon followed closely at Maddie’s side, nearly knocking her over as they walked. Grey’s hand help her keep her balance.

Carolina was left alone shaking her head. She knew had been unstable even before they got married, now she was being weirder than ever…

  
Later that night, Carolina finished her shower, she found Grey looking at the mirror again. She was wringing her hands like she was nervous. Carolina could sense that something really was wrong.

“Alright Em, out with it.”

“Out with what?” Grey pretended to look surprised.

“With whatever real or imaginary catastrophe you have brewing in your mind. You’ve been driving me crazy lately. You’re up until 3am rearranging the spice rack. Changing around the furniture like you did. You know how Maddie has issues with changes like that. And now the hair. What’s going on?”

She was still acting innocent, but the no nonsense look Carolina shot her, changed her mind. “Weeell…remember how before we adopted Allie, I brought up the subject of having a baby?”

Carolina cringed. “Yeah…”

Grey wouldn’t look her in the face. “Well, how about it, what if we were to have a baby?”

“But we have the two girls. I thought adopting Allie got the baby nonsense out of your mind.” She was surprised to see Grey struggling not to cry.

“I thought it would go away too, but it hasn’t. I’ve been spending time trying to change up a lot of my old routines, hoping that would help. I want to have a baby before I’m too old to have one.”

“You are not old.”

“I’m getting there, and so are you.” She pointed to the few grey strands that recently appeared in Carolina’s bright red hair.

Her face turned red with embarrassment. “Well, how do you think I got this grey hair in the first place? I have you, two kids and a dog to drive me crazy. So let’s add a new baby into the equation.”

There was a small gasp from the hallway. They both turned to see Maddie looking in from the hallway. Right by her side was Epsilon, he looked as concerned as she did. “What’s wrong? Why’s Mommy mad? It’s not about me is it?”

Carolina softened the critical look on her face. “No, of course not honey. I’m not mad.”

“You sounded mad.”

Grey went to put her arm around Maddie. “Sure she’s not, we’re just having a little discussion. What’s wrong sweetie pie?”

“I was waitin’ for you to come say goodnight.”

“Oh goodness, I didn’t mean to forget. Come on, Epsilon’s already getting tired and he won’t go to sleep without you. Let’s go.”

Maddie hesitated, she looked back at Carolina. “But Mommy looks mad, what was that about a new baby?”

Grey tried to distract her as she guided her out to the hallway. “Nothing’s wrong sweetie pie, don’t worry about it. It’s bed time, I’ll read you two stories tonight.

Maddie took one last look at Carolina before going with her Mom. She sighed deeply as she pulled back the bedspread. The last time Emily acted like this, she was easily distracted out of it. This time, she was acting crazier than ever.

Everyone else on Planet Chorus was afraid of Carolina, but Emily never was. Why did Carolina have the sinking feeling that they were having the baby?...


	2. Chapter 2

Carolina awoke with a start. She looked at the clock. “Damn, it’s almost nine o’clock, I can’t believe I slept in this late.” She looked at Emily’s side of the bed, she was already up. “Guess I better go help her with the kids before I go to work.”

She found the three of them gathered around the kitchen table, making crafts, and chattering away. Epsilon was lying by Maddie’s chair, chewing away on his favorite bone.

Emily smiled at Carolina as she entered kitchen. “Morning hon, I’m sorry I didn’t wake you sooner, but you looked so peaceful and you needed the rest. Coffee’s all ready for you.”

“Thanks Em, I really need some.” She braced herself for more of Emily’s baby troubles, but nothing more was said about it. She looked perfectly happy playing with the girls, hopefully she got the ridiculous idea out of her head. She got her coffee and joined them at the table.

Maddie looked up from her project. “Morning Mommy.” She bent her head back down to finish.

Allie tried to copy everything that Maddie did, so she echoed her. “Morning Mommy!” But she abandoned her project to get her morning hug. She had always Carolina’s girl since she was a little baby.

Carolina couldn’t resist giving her a big hug. “Morning honey.” Next, she put one arm around Maddie’s shoulders to give her a little hug, being careful not to interrupt her work. “Morning Maddie.”

Maddie glanced up with a smile before going back to her work.

Emily had finished her project. “You’re lucky ‘Lina, you’re just in time for art class. Today, we’re learning to make origami.” She held up the pink piece of paper she expertly folded into an envelope. She offered a piece to Carolina. “Wanna try it hon?”

Carolina pushed it away. “No way, you know I’m not artsy at all like you three are. I’m happy to just sit and watch.”

Maddie finally finished, she held her envelope up for her Moms to see it. “Lookie, I finished my oreegamee. It’s aqua color, like Mommy’s armor.” She handed the lopsided envelope to Carolina. “Here Mommy, I made it just for you!”

“Aww thank you honey. You did a beautiful job.”

Allie held hers up to. “Momma can have mine then.” Her purple envelope was torn and so wrinkled, it was impossible to tell what it was.

Emily gushed over it. “That’s so beautiful, my precious little sprout’s very first art project! You’re gonna be a natural artist just like your sister.” She kissed Allie’s cheek as she reached over to ruffle Maddie’s hair. Both of them giggled at her.

Though Carolina’s new family life was a little crazy, she loved all three of them. She almost didn’t want to leave, but a quick glance of watch told her she’d be late for work. “Ah darn it, I better get ready to go.”

Emily got up with her, got her jacket and nursing bag out of the closet. She gave her a passionate kiss as she helped put the jacket on her. “I love you so much ‘Lina.”

Carolina frowned slightly, she was too suspicious. “I love you too Em. Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”

“Sure I am, never felt better. You better go, you’ll be late for work. I gotta check on the kiddos, ta-ta.” She rushed back to the kitchen.

Her frown deepened, why did she not trust her wife?

An hour later, Emily helped the kids into their jackets. “C’mon sweeties, Momma’s gotta go talk to Uncle Wash.”

When Maddie was all zipped up in her light pink coat, she looked down in concern at Epsilon. “Epseelon gets to go too, doesn’t he?” She never wanted to go anywhere that her dog couldn’t go.

Emily gave her an understanding smile as she clipped on the dog’s blue leash. “Well of course he does. He just has to stay away from Wash’s kitten, that cat will hurt him.” She handed Maddie the leash.

Maddie gave a big smile, now she was happy. “‘Kay, I’ll keep him with me.”

Emily was nervous as they started out to Wash and Tucker’s, this was her last hope.

  
Wash’s door was open, Emily saw four year old David playing with his cars on the kitchen floor. He looked up and gave them a big crooked smile. He had already lost two of his front baby teeth, and his adult teeth were only partially grown in.

“Hi Doc Grey!” He ran to the door to let them in. It made Wash turn away from the counter where he was starting a fresh pot of coffee.

“Hey Emily. Hi girls.” Epsilon broke away from Maddie to greet David and then Wash. “Wow, you even brought Epsilon.” He affectionately stroked the dog’s head.

“I hope it’s okay, we just kinda barged in on you. I had to talk with you about something important.”

“Sure, it’s fine.” He wasn’t used to insane doctor looking so serious. “I had let David stay home from preschool since he seemed like he wasn’t feeling well. Turns out, Tucker let him stay up too late playing video games, now he’s been driving me crazy.” He shot his son a look.

David answered it with a big smile, he looked so much like Tucker when he did that. He and Wash had been super close since he was a baby, he knew his Dad loved him.

Wash rolled his eyes and tried not to smile. “David, how about you and the girls play with your cars out on the porch so we can talk. Loki usually keeps his distance when we have company, but I don’t want him getting spooked by the dog.”

“Okay Daddy.” He and Maddie carried out the cars while helping Allie out the door.

Wash brought over two mugs with steaming fresh coffee and they settled at the kitchen table. “Go ahead Emily, what’s wrong?”

She took a long sip of coffee before answering. “Weeelll, you remember back before we adopted Allie, I talked to both you and ‘Lina about me wanting to have a baby?”

Wash nodded, he didn’t like how this was starting out.

“Now that Allie’s healthy from her head trauma and Maddie is handling her autism so much better, I thought I should try for one more kid.”

Wash frowned slightly in thought. “You know, you could always adopt a child. President Kimball wouldn’t hesitate to find you and ‘Lina another one.”

Emily shook her head as tears spilled down her cheeks. “No, that’s not it. I really, really want to have the baby.”

Wash took in a deep breath. The cold fear shot through him at the very mention of having a baby. Emily invented the procedure that allowed men to have their own kids, but it was still very unpredictable. It worked great for Simmons and Grif, but not so well for Wash and Tucker. It wasn’t even five years ago since they lost their stillborn son, Lucas. Wash still struggled to keep from crying whenever his name was brought up.

Emily looked up at him. “I know how badly this still hurts for you. I feel like it was all my fault, I couldn’t save your little precious little boy. But I really need your help. You are the perfect choice to be the father of our baby.”

Wash couldn’t answer, he felt dead inside. All he could see was his tiny little baby reaching out to Wash to save him, but he couldn’t. He felt like he failed his son, how could he survive it if he failed another one…


	3. Chapter 3

Tucker interrupted the awkward silence as he slammed through the back door. He kissed Wash on the cheek as he set down the grocery bags he was carrying on the counter.

“Hi babe. Hey Doc Grey, love the new hairdo. I grabbed those popsicles that David wanted so badly…” He stopped when he realized no one was listening. “What’s wrong guys, bad news?” He looked critically at his husband.

Wash groaned and covered his face with his hands. Emily recovered before him, she wiped away the last of her tears.

“Not exactly bad news, despite what Wash thinks about it. I was thinking about having a baby, and I wanted your husband to be the baby’s father.”

Wash groaned louder. A big smile spread over Tucker’s face as he elbowed Wash in the arm. “Well that’s great news. I bugged the hell out of him the last two years that we should adopt another kid. Mr. Grumpy would never go for it. This place needs a new kid around.”

Wash uncovered his face and frowned at Tucker. “You do realize that this would be Emily and Carolina’s baby, not ours?”

“Of course I do, I’m not stupid. This is even better. We can babysit the little dude and then give it back. No more three am feedings.”

For the first time, Emily was able to smile. “I like that attitude Tucker. Yes, this will not be your actual baby, but the two of you are naturals to be the god parents.”

Wash raised his head. “Wait a minute, both of you, I never actually said yes. Tucker, this is something we should talk about.”

“Nah, what’s there to talk about? Let your best friends be able to have their kid.”

Wash glared at him to shut up. “Emily, have you thought this all through? What does ‘Lina think about it?”

“Weeeelll… she wasn’t exactly thrilled, but she didn’t no either. Anyway, the last time we talked about the subject, we adopted Allie, and Carolina’s heart melted. She’ll do the same thing once she holds our baby for the first time.”

Wash looked skeptical, family life tamed Carolina down a little, but underneath, she was the same stubborn solider. “I want her okay with this before I agree to anything.”

“Oh absolutely Wash. I’ll bring it up with her again tonight and I’ll tell her you two are onboard with the baby plans.” She squealed happily as she gave them each suffocating hugs. “I love you guys. I’m gonna start on a romantic dinner for ‘Lina.” She rushed outside to get her kids.

Wash groaned again, how the hell did he lose control of his life? Tucker chuckled. “Damn babe, looks like those two are having a new kid.”

Wash looked up and glared at him. “What are you thinking, putting the idea into head of a psycho doctor that I would help her have a baby? Do you not even care about how I feel about the subject?”

The smile slowly left Tucker’s face. “About what babe?” It took a second to dawn on him. “What, about losing Lucas? Babe, that happened almost five years ago. We’ve both been through therapy, I figured you’d be able to move on.”

“He was only our son Tucker, it’s a little hard, you act like you don’t even care about him. It was all my fault that he died.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it. That wasn’t your fault and I love all my kids. It wasn’t meant to be with Lucas. Look how we found David, he was meant to be our kid.”

Wash knew it was true, but the incident with the Doctor reopened his wounds. He screamed out. “My real son should be alive, we should have never have had to adopt David in the first place.” The second the words were out of his mouth, he wanted them back.

“Aww Damn.” Tucker’s reaction made Wash turn to look behind him. Little David stood in the doorway, his big brown eyes filled with tears.

Wash felt like his heart would break, he loved his little boy with all his heart. “Oh sweetheart, I didn’t mean that…”

David burst into tears. “Don’t you love me no more?”

Wash was practically in tears himself. “Of course I do.”

He tried to go to David, but when he got close, the four year old bolted from the room. His bedroom door slammed and his sobbing could heard all the way from the kitchen.

Tucker shot Wash a look. “Way to go buzzkill, you hurt his feelings.”

Wash headed in the direction of David’s bedroom. “Shut up, you know I didn’t mean it the way it came out. I love these kids more than anything.”

He gently knocked on David’s door. “Honey, I’m so, so sorry for saying that, you know how much I love you.”

“No you don’t.” His voice was muffled from behind the door.”

Wash sighed, David could be as stubborn as Tucker, he’d be here all day. “Yes I do. David, I was upset when I said that. Please just let me in so I can talk to you.”

Slowly, the door opened. David looked up at Wash with big, sad eyes. “‘Kay Daddy.”

He put his arm around David’s little shoulders and led to the bed. He sat down beside him and wondered where to begin. “You remember me telling you about your brother Lucas?”

He nodded as he curled up on Wash’s lap. “You’re still sad about him, aren’t you?”

Wash cuddled him closer. “Yeah, I’m really sad over it. Dr. Grey and Aunt Carolina want to have a baby, and it brought all those bad memories back. I said some things I shouldn’t have said, to you and your Dad, and I’m sorry.”

David shrugged, he still looked wounded. “I guess it’s okay. Can I have some popsicles for lunch then?”

Wash almost smiled, at least he recovered quickly. “Sure, you can go ahead.”

David jumped off the bed and went running to the kitchen. Now if only Tucker would be this agreeable. He found him sitting in their bedroom, looking down at a picture in his hand. When he heard Wash come in, he shoved the picture back into the nightstand.

“You looking at Lucas’ ultrasound picture again?”

Tucker sniffled before answering. “Maybe, what’s it to you?”

“Oh, stop the attitude, I know how much you wanted to have him, I know what a good father you are. I also know how much you want me to help out Emily and ‘Lina.”

He wouldn’t look at Wash. “Yeah, I know. You may not wanna help them out, but I do.”

Wash sat beside him and held him close. “Alright, we’ll see what happens.”

Tucker leaned against him. “Is David feeling better?”

“He’s getting there, I told him he could have popsicles for lunch, so he’s recovering.”

Tucker sat up. “Really, we can have popsicles for lunch? I’m gonna go join him, wanna come?” He had ahold of Wash’s hand.

“I’ll be there in a minute.”

When Tucker was gone, he opened the nightstand to sneak another look at the baby he never had the chance to know. What would have happened if he had lived? Would they still have adopted David? Life would have been completely different.

He closed the drawer and shook his head. He hoped Carolina could talk some sense into Dr. Grey before it was too late…


	4. Chapter 4

When they got home, Dr. Grey looked through the freezer. Allie went right away to play with the dog, but Maddie stayed in the kitchen and watched her Mother. “Whatcha’ doing Momma?”

“Trying to see what’s in the freezer for dinner. I want to make your Mommy something special.”

She was careful not to explain why, she didn’t want to bring up the baby subject until she got Carolina’s approval. Maddie already knew too much.

“So Mommy won’t be mad at you no more?”

Emily shot her a look. “Madeline, we’ve been through this before. Your Mommy is not mad.”

Allie came through the kitchen with Epsilon. She was trying to play tug of war with him with his stuffed hot dog toy, but she was too little to handle a German Shepherd. She giggled wildly every time he knocked her over.

“Mommy’s always mad at you!” Allie giggled again as she gave up trying to get the toy.

Emily had to laugh. “Thanks a lot traitors.” She closed the freezer door. “So, what should we make for dinner?”

Maddie blurted out her idea. “Tasghetti.” She helped Allie get the toy away from Epsilon, he always let Maddie win at tug of war.

“Hmm, isn’t spaghetti your favorite food?”

“Yeah, but it’s Mommy’s favorite too.”

“Very true, alright spaghetti with my famous homemade sauce it is. Good job Maddie.”

A babyhood filled with abuse, left Maddie with a low self esteem. Her time with Dr. Grey and Carolina taught her that she could do anything. Her cheeks burned pink with embarrassment and she smiled shyly at her Mother.

“Do you girls want to help me with dinner?” Dr. Grey was all about getting the kids involved with whatever she did.

Maddie squealed yes at the same time Allie shouted no. Emily had to chuckle, for being sisters, those two were very different...

When Carolina got home, she was exhausted. At least tomorrow was her day off, she could spend it resting with the kids. As soon as she stepped through the door, she was hit by the smell of garlic bread. She had a sinking feeling that Emily was up to something.

Epsilon barked as he came running to greet her. She stroked his head as she slipped off her shoes. “Hey there buddy, sorry I didn’t have time for our jog this morning.”

It was hard to believe that she didn’t want the dog at first when Emily surprised Maddie with the Shepherd when he was just a little puppy. Epsilon was the best workout buddy she ever had.

Allie came running out next, she practically pushed Epsilon out of her way so she could hug Carolina. “Hi Mommy, will you play with me? Momma and Maddie are boring.”

She scooped the toddler up in her arms. “Aren’t they paying attention to you?”

Allie shook her head miserably.

“What are they up to?”

“Cooking, it’s boring.”

Emily stuck her head from the dining room. “Cooking is not boring Allison, it’s special for Mommy.” She smiled at Carolina. “You’re just in time hon, come on and sit down.”

Now Carolina knew she was plotting, she shook her head and dreaded going into the dining room. The table was all set with a white lace table cloth and the good china Emily used for holidays. She had just finished lighting a candle in the middle of the table.

“Wow, what’s the special occasion?”

Emily tried to look innocent. “No reason, it’s just that I love you.

Carolina looked skeptical. “Em, what’s really going on?”

Emily shushed her. “I’ll tell you about later when the girls aren’t around.”

Now Carolina knew what this about, she hoped Emily had it out of her system. She helped Allie into her highchair, the hyper child hated sitting still this long. Even with Maddie’s booster seat, she had trouble reaching the table. She was very small for her size and wasn’t growing as fast as Emily had hoped.

Allie had more fun playing with her dinner than eating it. She kept throwing pieces of spaghetti at Maddie. She giggled over her cleverness. Emily smiled at her, but her mind processed the fact that Carolina was hardly touching her dinner.

“No no Allie, eat your spaghetti, don’t throw it. Maddie and I worked so hard on it.”

Allie was used to bring the center of attention, she pouted. “I helped too!”

“Yes you did. You played nicely with Epsilon so we could work.” She turned back to Maddie. “You know, without this sweetie helping me, I’d never get done in time.”

Allie looked disappointed, she wanted her Moms’ attention. With no warning she grasped the sides of her plate and dumped her dinner on her head. The spaghetti sauce was splattered all through her red hair.

Everyone stopped eating, it was the reaction she hoped for. Epsilon was suddenly interested, he looked sniffed around in case any spaghetti fell to the floor. Carolina had to stop him. “Epsilon, go to your dog bed and stay!”

Maddie and Emily were laughing along with Allie. “My goodness, what a hairstyle you gave yourself. At least the sauce matches your hair.” Emily stopped when she saw Carolina glaring at her.

“Me next, I want red hair too!” Maddie was all wound up.

Carolina had to take charge, Emily would never do it. She lifted Allie up. “Alright you, I hope being bad was worth it. You earned yourself a super long bath tonight.” Allie groaned as Carolina took her upstairs.

After fighting nearly an hour for bath and bedtime, Allie was finally asleep. Emily was finishing up Maddie’s bedtime. She motioned to Carolina to join her in the bedroom. She closed the door some, but didn’t latch it. Carolina was dreading this conversation.

“Out with it Em.”

“Weeeelll….I went to visit with Wash today. We had an interesting talk about him being the sperm donor for our baby.”

Carolina’s face burned. “You just came out and asked him? After all he’d been through with his own baby, and without even talking to me first?”

“I tried to talk to you, you wouldn’t listen. I want to have a baby and I want you to be okay with this.”

“I can’t be okay, you’re acting crazier than usual. You need psychiatric help, you shouldn’t be having a baby.”

The look on Emily’s face nearly broke Carolina’s heart. “I’m not crazy, I’m just a little eccentric.”

Carolina’s face softened. “Hey, I didn’t mean it like that. What I don’t understand is why you’re being so selfish, you’re only thinking about yourself.”

Emily’s tears flowed. “I want a baby before I’m too old. How is that being selfish?”

Now Carolina eyes filled with tears. “You know thanks to having cancer how I can never have children of my own. You know how Wash nearly died trying to have his own child. You know how spoiled Allie is, she’s used to being the baby. Do you even care about how the girls will feel?”

“Fine ‘Lina, you win. All you ever cared about is Wash, you two should have ended up together. Do you know how many times in your sleep you’ve screamed out his name? You’ve never done that for me. And I love those girls more than anything, that’s why I want another baby.”

Carolina could hardly look at her. “You know Wash and I had been through a lot…”

“Yes I know, and I thought we had been through a lot together too, but I guess I was wrong. I’ll go ahead and give you a divorce, so you can be free and run off to whatever battle you’ve been missing out on.”

Now it felt like a challenge. “Fine, maybe I will then.” As soon as she said it, Carolina knew she could never leave Emily and the girls.

The bedroom door squeaked open, Maddie’s shocked face looked in the room, tears streamed down her face. “Mommies no!” She ran back to her room, bawling as loud as she could.

“Shit, I can’t believe she heard that.”

Emily glared at her as she went to her daughter. “Good job ‘Lina, guess I’m not the only selfish one.”

Poor Carolina could only shake her head. She was a great Freelancer, a true warrior, how the hell did she caught in this mess anyway?


	5. Chapter 5

Carolina sat on the bed with her face buried in her hands. She took in a deep breath, she couldn’t believe she said those things to Emily, she didn’t mean any of them. She was used to being in control, she was used to living by her rules. Why were things so different when Emily was involved? Everyone else was afraid of Carolina, why wasn’t Emily?

She uncovered her face and tried to smooth back her hair, her face was the same shade of red as her hair. She looked like she went through a war. She knew she had to go to apologize to Emily and Maddie, she would never forgive herself until she did.

Maddie’s bedroom door was halfway open, both the overhead light and nightlight were on. Maddie was still terribly afraid of the dark. Poor Epsilon whined and tried to give Maddie kisses to calm her down. He couldn’t understand why his best friend was upset.

Emily gently pushed him away. “It’s okay, that’s a good dog, I’m taking care of her.” She sat beside Maddie and stroked back her blond curls. “I’m sorry you had to hear all those things. But why were you out of bed so late?”

Maddie’s terrified voice was shaky. “ I just wanted a drink of water.” She was almost in tears.

“All you had to do was call for me, I’d have gotten your drink.”

The tears flowed down her cheeks. “But I missed you and Mommy, now I might lose you both.”

Emily wiped away her tears as she settled Maddie against her pillow. “Aww sweetie, you won’t lose us, don’t listen to what you heard, we were both angry.”

Maddie didn’t look convinced. “But Momma, if you have a baby, what if you don’t want me and Allie no more.”

Emily fought the urge to correct her grammar. “Sweetie pie, I’d never get rid of you girls, no matter how many kids I had. The reason I wanted my own baby is because I love you two so much.”

Maddie thought about it. “So I’d be a big sister again?” Her tears stopped and she looked interested.

Emily fought back the lurch in her heart. “Well, yes you would. I know you’d be a great big sister, like you are to Allie, but your Mommy said no.”

Maddie actually looked disappointed. “Aww, I woulda liked a new baby.”

Emily could hardly hold back her own tears. “So would I sweetie pie, but it’s not meant to be.” She tucked her unicorn bedspread around the sleepy toddler. “Anyway, I already got the two bestest girls in the world, so I’m happy. Night night sweetie.” She kissed her cheek before switching off the light.

“Night Momma.” Maddie had practically fallen back asleep.

As Emily left a crack in the door, she was startled to see Carolina standing there. She looked as heart broken as Emily felt. “How long have you been here?”

Carolina could hardly look at her. “Long enough, I heard everything.” She didn’t want to admit it, but despite Emily’s eccentricities, she was a great mother, Carolina knew she was broken up about it. She would truly love their new baby.

Emily tried to compose herself. “Then you know that it’s over; you win. So can we stop arguing already? I love you too much to try to hate you.”

Carolina took ahold of her hand. “I love you too, I have no intentions of leaving you and the girls, no matter how stupid you’re acting.”

Emily couldn’t help smiling. “Hey, I have a 240 IQ. Just because you’re jealous of my intelligence, doesn’t mean you can insult me.”

Now Carolina smiled. “Yeah, I know I’m stupid. That’s why I’m allowing to go through with this baby bullshit idea of yours.”

“What… for real? You’re not kidding…?” Emily was too excited, her high pitch voice got 10 times louder.

“Shh, don’t wake up the girls. You heard what I said. As long Wash is totally okay with this scheme, I plan on saving him as much pain as I can.”

Emily wasn’t listening, her brain was going off in a hundred different directions. “Oh goodness, I have to call Wash and Tucker, I need to schedule all the appointments. What room will the baby share? Even worse, what’s the perfect name? It needs to go perfectly with Grey… oh, I’m so excited, I’m gonna get a migraine…”

“Em, calm down, you can’t do anything else tonight. Go to bed and rest, you can bug Wash in the morning.”

“Right right right, it’s super late…” She headed for the bedroom.

Carolina followed shaking her head, she needed her head examined for this. She had nine more months to go through this. She was the one getting a migraine.

Early the next morning, Emily and Carolina showed up at the Grif-Simmons’ front porch with an excited Maddie and a crabby Allie. As always, Epsilon stayed close to Maddie’s side. Simmons had the day off and agreed to babysit.

Carolina looked disgusted at her wife. “I knew you would be excited to have this baby, I just didn’t think you’d rush out this soon. You only told Wash about it yesterday.”

Emily rolled her eyes. “I’m only finding out when we can begin the procedure, you happen to have today off, and I’d like to have you with me…that’s all, I’m not rushing into it.”

Allie was extremely crabby on hearing the news of her family getting a new baby. “No Momma, we don’t need one!”

Maddie interrupted her. “Yes we do, babies are fun.”

Allie’s face got red, she was planning a temper tantrum. Emily had to stop her. “We have no idea if there will ever be a baby, so cool it.”

She knocked on the door. They heard a dog barking and a loud bang. Simmons yelled. “Mira, get that dog outside before he breaks anything else.” His face was flushed with embarrassment as he opened the door.

Emily smiled at him. “Hey Simms, how’s the new puppy dog working out?”

He glared as he let them through the door. “Don’t even ask. He was a total angel at the pound, as soon as we brought him home, he is destructor dog.”

Carolina stepped out to the back yard to see the dog. “You know you can’t just bring a new dog home and expect it to know how to behave. You have to put time and effort into, like I did with Epsilon.”

“Yeah right, I took a whole week off work to train him. He’s the sweetest dog, I honestly love him, but he’s so damned hyper… who would think that Mira could find the one dog as badly behaved as she is.”

As soon as they stepped out on the porch, the big, fluffy tan dog nearly plowed into them. Mira was trying to hold onto his leash and was practically being dragged. Carolina took charge right away.

“What’s his name Mira?”

She took a second to catch her breath. “He’s Einstein Two.” Her smile glowed with pride for her new best friend.

Carolina frowned. “Einstein Two? How’d you come with that?”

Simmons looked more embarrassed. “He looks like the dog I used to have, Einstein. Mira thought the name was clever.”

Emily gave a big smile as she petted the happy dog. “Well of course it is, it’s a nice name Mira.”

Maddie squealed happily as Einstein licked her face. Allie struggled to go see him. “Pretty doggie!” Her bad mood was instantly gone.

Epsilon came to block Einstein from his humans. He wasn’t being aggressive, but he was being protective. “Epsilon no, the dog is a friend. Be a good boy.” Carolina gave him the command to leave the strange dog alone. He trusted her judgement.

“Does he know any obedience yet?”

Simmons looked overwhelmed. “Yeah, he knows how to steal food from the counter, to chew only my good work shoes, and how to break everything in sight. How’s that?”

Mira made a face. “Aww Daddy, Einstein’s the greatest dog ever, even if he can’t do nothing. He’s my best friend and I love him.”

Simmons’ face softened. “I’m sorry, I love him too. Right now, he’s just too much dog.”

Carolina was deep in thought. “How about if I give you a hand training him Mira?”

She smiled. “Thank you Aunt ‘Lina.”

Simmons looked doubtful. “Are you sure you can?”

Carolina glared at him. “I trained you morons, and this dog is definitely smarter.”

He shut up quickly.

She glanced at Emily. “Maybe I should stay here and help out with the dog.” She stopped when she saw Emily’s critical look. “Alright, I’ll give you pointers when we get back from the hospital.”

Carolina would give anything to avoid that doctor’s appointment.


	6. Chapter 6

Two weeks later, Carolina found herself working out at the gym. Punching away at the punching bag was what she’d been busy with since Dr. Grey decided to go through with the artificial insemination. Her wife’s manic behavior made home life almost unbearable.

She had been pounding away for over half an hour. Back in her Freelancer years, she could keep this up all day, now she worked out for fun. Except for today...

The gym door opened, she saw the back of the blond man that entered and situated himself at the bag beside hers. She was determined to ignore him and continue with her workout. He purposely fidgeted about and made noises, trying to get her attention, but she wouldn’t even look up.

When he grumbled, “Uh-Huh,” she couldn’t help but be annoyed, she balled up her fist to punch him. His familiar chuckle made her stop and look up.

“Wash! What’s wrong with you, why didn’t you say anything? I was ready to deck you.”

“I was wondering how long it would take you.” He noticed how hard she was breathing, her sweat drenched face, and red, raw hands. “Geez, how long have you been here?”

She stopped for a breather. “Not long enough, I’m still conscious.” She tried to laugh it off.

Wash smiled sadly at her. “Having trouble at home?” He didn’t want to admit that was why he was at the gym too.

She pretended to be busy centering the bag. “Yeah, sort of. I’m afraid if I didn’t come here to use the punching bag, I’d hit Emily instead.”

“I can relate, that’s why I’m here. Tucker’s been driving me crazy with all the baby talk, it’s all everyone’s been talking about… I almost wish I didn’t agree to go along with it.”

Carolina frowned at him. “Then why in the world did you give in to Emily? You could have told her no, with this manic high she’s been on, she would have be off to another project. She’s only been through one round of the insemination, tell her you changed your mind.”

Wash looked away as he taped up his hands. “No…I can’t do that, anyway, she may already be pregnant. She just seemed so happy about it, I owe her a lot. She saved my life more than once, she tried to save my son, I’m just glad I could do this for her.”

She shot him a critical glance. “Are you sure about that?”

Wash thought that before answering. “Yes, I really do. Tucker has nagged at me for years that I needed some real closure after losing Lucas. Maybe this what I need to help me.”

Carolina felt satisfied from his answer. “Good, that was what I needed to hear from you.”

“God, you still treat me like a kid. All those years in the Freelancers, you and York always treated me like the little brother.”

“Well, you sorta was, rookie.” Without warning, she drew him into a headlock. She wasn’t even trying and she had Wash writhing in pain. “Admit it, and I’ll let you go.”

“No way!” She tightened her grip. “Oww, Alright you win, you’re the true warrior.” She let go, he rubbed at his shoulder to get the pain to go away. “You happy now ‘Lina?”

She smiled, it was genuine this time. “Yes, actually I am. I feel better than I have in a while…”

Carolina got home later than she planned, she hoped Emily wasn’t pissed. When she opened the door, only Epsilon came to greet her. She affectionately patted his head.

“Hi buddy, guess you’re the only one who isn’t mad at me. Where is everyone at?”

She heard the kids laughing snd singing all the way from upstairs, she went up to check it out. The commotion was coming from the guest bedroom. She gasped when she looked in the doorway. All the old furniture was cleared out. Emily was on a step stool painting, while the girls were finger painting.

“Emily, what in the world are you doing?”

She turned and smiled. “Oh hi honey, I didn’t hear you come in. We’re redecorating.” She splattered some paint from her brush as she climbed down.

The normally egg shell white walls were now a mix of three different shades of blue, all blended together. It gave the room a nice, relaxed feel. Carolina would say that she liked it if she had been expecting to see the remodeling.

“It looks great Em, but why are you doing this?”

“Oh you never know…we may have a boy staying here that wouldn’t like a room that’s pink or rainbow colored…” She shot a secretive wink. “I’ll explain it later when the girls aren’t listening.” Her face was absolutely glowing.

The dread in Carolina’s stomach returned. It had only been two weeks, could Emily really be pregnant on the first try? She narrowed her eyes, trying to read her wife’s mind. Casually, Emily changed the subject.

“These two girls have been such a big help. They’re finger painting some artwork for the new room.”

Allie looked up from her crumpled paper and smiled at Carolina. Her hands were completely covered in red and yellow paint. “Yeah Mommy, this is fun! See my picture?” She thrust it at Carolina, it was still wet and the paint got smeared.

“It’s beautiful honey, but you got paint all over yourself. Em, why would you give her paint to use?”

“Relax, it rinses off with water. I needed something to entertain them so I could work.”

“How did you move out all the furniture by yourself?”

Maddie quietly came to Carolina with her painting. It was a pink and purple butterfly. “We had Uncle Donut and Doc over today. They brought us the finger paint to play with.”

At least some things were making sense. “Why did you feel like you have to start this now? We have plenty of time.” Her knowing look told Emily she knew.

“Why not do it sooner rather than later. I had some good news today and I felt energized.”

Allie was paying no attention and kept working on her painting. Maddie was more observant, she knew something was wrong.

“What kind of news Momma?”

Emily gave a big smile. “Weeelll… I wasn’t going to say anything yet, but what the heck. We’re having a new baby!”

Maddie was the only other one who looked happy. “Yayy, I’m a big sister again!”

Allie looked confused. “Why? I’m your baby, you don’t need another one.”

“Yes, you are my baby Allie, you’re my most special little sprout. I love you and Maddie so much, I want another one.”

Allie looked like she would cry. “You’re my Momma, I don’t wanna share!”

Emily looked worried. “You share me Maddie and you never minded.”

Allie shook her head. Her face was red and her lips were set in a pout. This was how all her temper tantrums started. “Maddie’s big, it doesn’t count. You’re my Momma.”

Maddie tried to put her arm around her sister. “Calm down Allie, it’s not that bad.”

“It is too, Momma doesn’t love me no more!” Her crying made Epsilon nervous, he loved his little humans and he worried over them. He ruffed and tried to give her a kiss. She pushed him away.

Carolina was afraid of this. “Allison, calm down, she does too love you, we all do. Look how Epsilon is worried about you.” She knelt down to pick her up, Allie’s crying softened. She felt safe in Carolina’s arms.

“But I’m still the baby.” She was too stubborn to quit.

Carolina cuddled her close. “Yes, you still are. Let’s get you cleaned up and then we’ll talk about this some more.” She shot her wife a look, then felt guilty about it. Emily went from ecstatic to defeated in a matter of minutes.

A new baby should help bring the family together. So far, all it was doing was tearing them apart.


	7. Chapter 7

“Weeeellll goodness, that didn’t go as smoothly as I hoped.” She gave a small smile to Maddie who stayed close by her side. She put her arm around the child’s thin shoulders. “It’s almost time for bed, let’s get you settled down.”

Maddie nodded solemnly. “‘Kay Momma.” She looked worried about her sister. They could hear Allie’s sad sobs from her bedroom.

After Maddie was tucked under her bedspread she threw her arms around her Mom, she couldn’t control her tears. Grey sat at the edge of her bed and held her close. “Aww sweetie pie, what’s wrong?”

Maddie answered through her sobs. “Momma, when you have the new baby, you really will keep me and Allie won’t you?”

“Why of course I will, what kind of question is that? Allie’s only feeling threatened because she won’t be the baby anymore. I love you girls as much as I do this baby. Nothing will change.”

Maddie’s tears slowed. “Really? Are you sure nothing will happen to you?”

Grey fought back the little twinge of doubt she had about her pregnancy. “Sure I’m sure. I’m only the best doctor ever, what could happen?” She was determined to stay positive.

Maddie gave a small smile. “Yeah you’re right, you’ll always be my Momma.” She settled back against her pillow.

Carolina entered with a very sullen looking Allie. Carolina looked about as exhausted as Allie did. “I calmed her down.” She tried to pass her to Grey, but Allie clung on tightly, she wasn’t willing to forgive Grey just yet. “At least I tried.”

Grey could only sigh, Allie had a mind of her own. “I appreciate the effort hon. Now Miss Allie, it’s time to go to bed. We’ll talk more about this in the morning when you’re calmer.” She reached to take her. Again, Allie wouldn’t go.

“No! I’m mad at you, you like the new baby more than me. I wanna stay with Maddie! She won’t be mean to me!”

She struggled loose from Carolina’s arms and tried to climb up in bed by her sister. Maddie helped her up and kept her arm protectively around her. Epsilon whined and laid his head near Allie, he knew she was upset. Allie patted his head as she started to get sleepy.

She allowed herself a tired smile. “I love you Epseelon.” Both kids still couldn’t say his name too well, the dog never seemed to mind.

Grey looked worried. “Allie, you really shouldn’t bother Maddie like this…” She stopped when she saw Carolina shaking her head.

“Just let her go Em. Epsilon’s taking care of them, they’ll go right to sleep.”

She gave up and kissed each one on the cheek, she was surprised when Allie let her. “Nightie night girls.”

Grey found Carolina straightening up the mess in the future nursery. She rushed in the room to help her. “Hey hon, let me help you with all this.”

Carolina gathered the dirty paintbrushes in her hands and turned away from Grey. “Thanks Em, I need to get these brushes rinsed out before the paint hardens.” She headed towards the bathroom.

“Wait a minute.” Carolina half turned to look at her. “You’ve been awfully quiet about my news tonight, I was wondering what you’re thinking about.”

Carolina shrugged. “I don’t know…I honestly don’t know how to feel about it.” She started to leave the room. Grey’s over dramatic sigh stopped her.

“Please ‘Lina, I really need to know that I’ve made the right decision.” The desperation in her voice scared Carolina. Emily had always been so sure of herself.

“Well, I will tell you this, you certainly have this household in an uproar. Your youngest daughter is mad at you. You practically started a fight between Wash and Tucker. Wash’s PTSD is starting up all over again, not to mention my own thanks to my battle against cancer…”

She stopped when Emily burst into tears. “I’m sorry, I know I wrecked everyone’s life. I don’t even deserve to have this baby.”

Carolina softened her tone, she hated to see Emily cry. “No Em, let me finish. Even through all this wacky bullshit, I think you made the right decision. I would prefer a little less chaos over it, but you made the right decision to have this baby. I need my own head examined for even thinking that.”

Emily stopped crying. “For real, you really want this baby?”

She half laughed. “Sure, why not? This kid will be half you and half Wash, I can’t even imagine what kind of combo that would make. And I can’t wait to find out.”

Emily squealed so loud, she almost woke up the kids. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! I was getting so worried there for a while, but it’s gonna be a blast raising this baby.” She was absolutely glowing again.

Carolina sighed, she would be putting up with Emily’s famous mood swings for the next nine months. She took a better look around the room.

“So you picked out blue for the nursery? Any particular reason why, it’s way to early to tell.”

“I just know it’s going to be a boy, don’t ask me how, but I’m positive.”

Carolina trusted her instincts. “Who knows, maybe I’ll gain a new workout partner when he’s old enough. Maddie and Allie never seem to be interested when I bring the idea up to them.”

Emily gave her a sharp whack on the back. “That’s the sprit ‘Lina, keep everything going positive. She looked around the room. “I was thinking about recycling Allie’s crib and baby toys for the new baby.”

Carolina raised her eyebrows. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? Allie’s already jealous, you take her belongings away from her and you’re going to make her worse.”

“Well, I plan on telling her she’ll get replacements for a big kid, and she can share with the little kid. Maybe it’ll get her psyched up for being a big sister.” She started picking up all the newspapers she laid over the carpet. She wasn’t paying any attention to what Carolina thought.

She shook her head and started helping. Allie was very different from Maddie, she was very spoiled and coddled. She was afraid Allie wouldn’t give up her position as the center of attention without a major battle…


	8. Chapter 8

Mira threw down her pencil in frustration. It bounced off Dr. Grey’s kitchen table and rolled almost to the refrigerator. Grey had to move fast to snatch it before Allie could grab it and go running off with it. This was a new favorite game of the almost two year old.

It was three months into her pregnancy, and she was starting to feel it. She had morning sickness every day and was having weird cravings for foods she would never eat. Allie was still feeling jealous, so Grey was trying to be as sympathetic to the rambunctious toddler as she could. Allie looked disappointed to lose her new toy.

“Ha, got ya there little sprout.” She playfully ruffled Allie’s red curls and handed the pencil back to Mira. “Calm down honey. We’ve been studying for your spelling test all week, you know these words.”

Tears flowed down Mira’s cheeks, she quickly wiped them away. “No I don’t. I’ll never pass the test tomorrow.”

Grey put both her hands on Mira’s shoulders. “Well kiddo, whether you pass or you fail, you tried. You put the time in and studied, you did the best you could. I’m proud of you either way.”

Mira sniffled. “Try telling that to my Dad, he expects me to be perfect. Dex and Jake always bring home straight A’s, and I’m lucky if I pass. I hate being the stupid kid of the family.”

Grey narrowed her eyes. Mira’s father, Grif, had plenty of problems with depression and anxiety. Depression could be hereditary, she had always been so attached to Mira, she hated to see her suffer like Grif did.

“What kind of talk is that? You are certainly not stupid, don’t ever say that. Everyone is smart in their own way, who cares if you don’t have book smarts like your brothers? Don’t let old Simms get you down.”

Hearing her grouchy father, Simmons, being called that made her smile. Grey could always get her to cheer up. She gave her a big hug. “You’re the best Doc Grey.”

“Of course I am.” She reached over to slam Mira’s book shut. “Here’s what you do, don’t even touch that spelling book until after your test. You’re stressing yourself out.”

Mira looked confused. “Then what do we do all afternoon?”

“Make cookies! That’s the best prescription to beat stress.”

Mira smiled. “What kind of cookies?”

“Oh a little of this and a little of that, and we’ll figure out what kind they are when we’re finished.” She grabbed a package of oatmeal from the cupboard. “We’ll add some of this to make them healthy. That way old Simms can’t object to them.”

Mira’s smile got bigger. “Got chocolate chips? That’s my favorite.”

She showed off a package in her other hand. “Of course I do, the chocolate’s important.”

Allie and Maddie came out to the kitchen, followed by Epsilon. Maddie looked up at the ingredients and tugged shyly at Grey’s sleeve. “Can we have sprinkles too? I love pretty colors.”

Grey smiled affectionately at her. “Sure can sweetie pie.” She led Allie in closer. “How about you little sprout, what’s your favorite?”

Allie thought about it. “How ‘bout mallows?”

Grey rummaged through the cupboard. “Alrightee, mini marshmallows it is.”

Mira giggled as she and Maddie mixed all the ingredients together. “These are gonna be the best cookies ever!”

Grey carefully baked them and set the cookie sheets out to cool on the counter. “Oookay little ones, these pans are hot, be careful.”

As soon as she said it, Mira jumped back. “Ouch, I burned my nose.”

“What did I just tell you Mira?”

“But they smell so good, I want one.”

“We can all have one after dinner. How about we go play with Maddie’s dollhouse together so the cookies can cool?”

Epsilon air scented the cookies while licking his lips. Maddie understood what he wanted. “Momma, can Epsilon have a cookie later too?”

“Sorry sweetie, chocolate’s not good for dogs. He can have one of his dog biscuits later to make up for it.”

“‘Kay, Epseelon will be happy then.”

Grey and the girls played happily with the dolls. She felt a small tug at her arm. Maddie looked up at her with sad eyes.

“Momma, I hurt my doll’s arm. I’m too stupid to change her clothes.”

Grey took the broken doll. “Aww Maddie…”

Mira knew what to do. “ Don’t ever say that Maddie. You’re super smart in your own way, just like me.” She winked at Grey.

Maddie smiled through her tears. “Really?”

Grey winked back at Mira, she was a great kid. “Yes, you’re really really, smart. The three of us are the smartest geniuses in the world.” She noticed Allie was missing. “Goodness, where’d Allie go?” She got up in a panic.

She heard a thud, a loud bang, then Allie’s terrified screams from the kitchen. She went running to help her. Allie was sitting on the kitchen floor, Epsilon was beside her, and the tray of cookies were all over the floor.

Allie reached for her Mom. “Momma, I fell down!”

Grey scooped her up and checked over her, she was scared, but not hurt. “Allison, what were you doing? Did you climb up on the dog to reach that counter? You could have hurt yourself!”

Allie nodded. “But Momma, I wanted a cookie!”

“I told you they were for after dinner. You know better than to use Epsilon as a ladder. You could have hurt him too. You’re going into time out for not listening to me.”

Allie cried harder as Grey made her stand in the corner. Epsilon willingly stood beside her, his tail was between his legs. He knew he was guilty too.

Grey tried not too laugh, they looked adorable together. “Weeell girls, at least we have one tray left. Mira, I’ll pack you up some cookies to share with your brothers. Don’t let Grif near them.”

“I’ll try, Daddy has radar for junk food, it won’t be easy.”

Simmons showed up at the door. “Hi Em, is Mira all ready?”

“Sure Simms, come on in, she’s gathering up her school work.” She showed off the treat bag. “We made cookies today.”

“Wait a minute, don’t you have a spelling test tomorrow? How’d you get time to study and bake cookies?”

Mira panicked, Grey had her back. “You don’t realize what a natural genius your daughter is, we totally had time for both.” Mira smiled smugly at him.

Simmons looked skeptical. “Sure she is…” He noticed Allie and Epsilon looking miserable in the corner. “What’s wrong with those two?”

Maddie took Simmons’ hand. “They were bad, they got busted stealing cookies.”

“Mira, did you have anything to do with that?” He always naturally blamed her when something was wrong.

Both Mira and Grey looked offended. “I did not, I was playing with Maddie!” She was on the verge of a temper tantrum.

“You know Simms, she’s been a big help to me with the girls, especially now that I’m pregnant. You need to give her more credit than you do.”

Simmons looked embarrassed. “Yeah I know, it’s a habit.” He put his arm around Mira. “How come you’ll help Emily with cooking, but when I suggest helping me, you never want to?”

Mira squirmed. “Cause it’s no fun doing something with you. You always get bossy and yell at me, we can’t have any fun together.”

Simmons got quiet. “Aww I’m sorry, I just like doing things properly, I don’t mean to be bossy. How about you can help me with dinner, and I’ll let you take charge.”

Her eyes lit up. “I can make anything?”

Simmons flinched. “Within reason, but I promise you, we’ll try to have fun together.”

She looked happy as she grabbed her hand. “Yayyy, c’mon Daddy.”

Grey chuckled as they left, poor Simmons was going to be in for it. She looked around at the mess in the kitchen. “Well Miss Maddie, how about we clean up this mess, and I’ll put a pizza in the oven for dinner?”

“Sounds good Momma.” She started picking up the ruined cookies.

Grey hated to admit it, but pizza with cookies was sounding like a good combo to her. She was so into health food, she would never touch a frozen pizza until now. The thought of all her healthy fruits and vegetables she loved, made her stomach lurch.

She wasn’t going to fight it, she’d give into her strange cravings for now. After all, she only had six more months to go…


	9. Chapter 9

“Emily, hurry up. You’re going to be late for your doctor’s appointment.”

Emily and Carolina were heading into the fifth month, this was Emily’s important sonogram to prove to everybody that she was having a boy. Carolina still had her doubts.

She was both nervous and excited over today. She knew she had no actual generic ties to this baby, but she still felt like he was her son too. It was fascinating to watch how quickly he’d grown in the last few months.

“I’ll be ready in a minute hon.” Her voice was muffled from behind the bedroom door.

Carolina had been ready for half an hour. “You’ve been saying that for the last ten minutes, your minute is long up. We still need to drop the girls over at Wash’s.”

She heard a struggle from upstairs. Allie’s loud voice protested as Emily tried to pull her away from her stuffed animals. “No Momma, I don’t wanna go!”

“Yes you do Allie, you like playing with little David. Mommy and I are going you bring you home some pictures of your baby brother.”

“No! I don’t want any pictures, I don’t want a brother! Momma, stay home with me.”

“Oh goodness, I can’t handle these Terrible Twos.”

“For crying out loud, let me get her. You baby her too much, I’d have her ready to leave in two minutes.”

“Oh ‘Lina, she’s been so jealous over the… b…a…b…y… I need to handle her gently.”

Carolina groaned, they were never leaving at this rate. Maddie was all ready to go. She took hold of Carolina’s hand. “I know what that word is Mommy.”

Carolina looked surprised. Maddie wasn’t quite three yet, how could she possibly know how to spell ‘baby’? “Oh yeah, what is it?”

“It’s spelling. I don’t know what it is exactly, but it’s a bad thing. That’s why Mira hates it so much.” She looked proud of herself.

Carolina chuckled affectionately and gave her a hand a little squeeze. “Well, you’re not wrong about that.”

Emily emerged with a sulky looking Allie. Her face was as red as her curly hair. “Well, I caught the stubborn sprout. Let’s get ready.”

Allie stopped and held her arms out to Emily. “Pick me up Momma, carry me the way you used to.”

“Aww I’m sorry little sprout. You’re too heavy for me to carry around now. We don’t want to hurt the baby.”

“But I’m your baby too, don’t you like me no more?”

“Of course I like you, but you’re a big girl now, you have to walk.”

Allie’s eyes filled with tears. Carolina reached down to her and placed her on her shoulders. “C’mon honey, I’ll give you a ride.”

Allie gave in and giggled wildly as Carolina played with her. Emily hung back, that had always been her game to play with Allie. She felt a small tug at her sleeve. Maddie looked up at her with her big, blue eyes.

“I’ll walk with you Momma.”

Emily smiled and pulled her close. “Thanks sweetie pie.” At least one member of her family wasn’t mad at her.

A few hours later, Emily and Carolina were heading back to Wash and Tucker’s. They walked hand in hand. Carolina’s arm was affectionately around Emily’s shoulders. For the first time in months, she was truly happy.

They found Tucker outside playing with David and Allie. He came running over. “Hey doc, any good news today?”

Emily’s smile was radiant. “I sure did. I was right all along, we’re having a boy! I thought that might make Wash happy.”

Carolina frowned. “No, that news might make him feel worse.”

Tucker shook his head. “Nah ‘Lina, after we lost Lucas, we both went through therapy. It helped me a lot. Wash didn’t stick with it like he was supposed to, he would wake up screaming from nightmares about it. But he got better real fast, especially when we found this little rascal.”

He gently pulled David into a headlock, which made the four old giggle. “Yep, my Daddies said I’m the best surprise they ever got!”

Emily smiled at him. “You sure are. I’m sooo happy I was able to bring you guys together.”

Allie came running into Carolina’s arms. “Hi Mommies, I missed you.”

Emily kissed her forehead. “Hi little sprout. Where’s your sister?”

“She got hurt.”

Tucker helped explain. “Yeah, she took a nasty spill when she was trying to play. She skinned her knee up pretty bad. Wash doctored her all up, you’d be proud of him.”

“I’m going to check on her. You guys can play out here some more.”

Eight year old Chloe let Emily into the house. “Hi Doc Grey, you’re just in time to see Maddie’s new makeover.”

Maddie was on the couch, her sore knee was propped up on a cushion. She wore a yellow printed dress that was at least three sizes too big for her. Her blond curls were pinned back with yellow dandelions. She looked so precious, Emily had to smile.

“Weeell lookie there, Maddie looks so grown up. But what are those flowers in your hair.”

“They’re pretty yellow flowers. I love ‘Em.”

Chloe looked embarrassed. “I tried to tell her they were weeds, but she didn’t believe me.”

Emily laughed. “Don’t worry about that, she looks soooo cuuute! Is your Dad around, I need to talk to him.”

Chloe fixed Maddie’s hair some more. “Yeah, he’s making some coffee.”

Wash met Emily at the kitchen. “Hi Wash, thanks for watching out for Maddie.”

“It’s no trouble. I’ve been meaning to ask you something about her. She has a lot of balance problems, doesn’t she?”

“Yes, it’s no fault of her own, you can thank her rotten birth father for it. I performed a CAT scan on her when she was still a baby, she has some slight brain damage, most likely from Shaken Baby Syndrome. It leaves her very uncoordinated.”

“Poor little kid, she’s got to be the sweetest little girl ever. Her knee is only a little skinned, nothing major. She was crying so badly, I made a big to do about bandaging her up. She loved all the attention, Chloe was the same way when she was that age.”

“Speaking of kids, I have some good news. “ She held out a sonogram photo. “We’re having a boy!”

Wash glanced at the photo for only a second, he wouldn’t take it. That one glance was enough. He thought about the one photo he had tucked away of Lucas. They looked so similar. He voice got choked up, he could feel the tears well up. He couldn’t let Emily see it.

“Wee…ll… that’s great. I’m so happy for you and ‘Lina. You’re both so great with your girls, he’s a very lucky baby.”

“Wash, I don’t know if it’s proper etiquette, but I’d love to have you and Tucker involved in his life. I’d like to name you both as his god fathers. I asked Simmons and Grif to be the girls’ god fathers since they’re so close with Maddie. This baby is your son too, I hope you’d consider it.”

The tears Wash was so afraid of streamed down his cheeks. This baby wasn’t even born yet, and already it’s broken Wash’s heart. He didn’t want to think of this baby as his son; he couldn’t. Lucas was his son, he wanted him back. That could never happen. He felt so bad for holding a grudge against an innocent baby.

Emily tried to reach out to console him. He quickly dodged out of her reach. “I…I don’t think that can possible, I don’t want to think of him as mine. He’s your and ‘Lina’s son, lets leave it at that.”

He darted out of the kitchen to hide away in the bathroom. When he was safely behind the locked door, he could finally cry. He cried for every moment in his miserable childhood, all of his bumbling misfortunes while training for the Freelancers, for every friend he ever lost…he cried for it all.

Most of all, he cried for his two sons. One he lost, and the other he would never get to bond with. This was the worst idea ever, of all time…


	10. Chapter 10

By the sixth month, Grey’s pregnancy was catching up with her. She was stressing over getting the baby’s nursery just right. She had been surprised with a lovely baby shower by her nurses and hospital staff, now she had a lot more baby things to be put away. And she was facing the biggest challenge of all: how did she Allie to give up her baby crib for a new toddler bed?

Carolina frowned at her wife when she asked her that question. “Em, she’s not going to be two for another three months, is she ready for an actual bed?”

“Oh yes, I’ve been reading all the baby books, they recommend that when your toddler can climb out of the crib, it’s time to switch to a bed. She climbs on everything like a monkey, it’s safer for her.”

She silently agreed. “Hmm, it’s weird that Maddie is so different from her sister. I doubt she could even climb out of crib, and she’s almost three.”

Grey nodded sadly. “Yeah, the poor dear has so many problems with her coordination. She’s going to be behind all her classmates when she starts school. Anyway, I ordered Allie the most adorable bed, it should be delivered today. It’s in bright rainbow colors, she’s gonna love it!”

“I have a double shift today at the hospital, I don’t want you moving heavy things around. Why don’t you wait for the weekend so I can help you?”

“Ah nonsense, I’ll be fine.”

“DO NOT move any furniture around by yourself. I heard you up and down last night. You have three months until the baby is due, you need to be careful.”

“Oh yeah, the baby’s due around Allie’s birthday, that’ll be exciting… no don’t worry about last night.” She laid her hands on her swollen baby bump. “I needed some trips to the bathroom, that’s all.”

Carolina looked at her critically. “Don’t lie, I know it was more than a bathroom trip.”

Grey couldn’t look her in the eyes. “It was one false contraction, that’s all. I’ve delivered enough babies to know the difference.”

“Delivering someone else’s baby and giving birth to your own are two different things. You know better than that.”

“Of course I do. Everything’s fine, I swear. I’ll start on some of the easy decorating and I’ll wait for you to help with the rest, hows that?”

Carolina raised her eyebrow, she didn’t trust her. “Fine, I need to leave, I’ll be home by eight.”

“Bye hon.” She looked around the cluttered nursery. Where did she begin…

Later that day while Allie was taking her nap, Grey thought of a fun project to do with Maddie. She interrupted her daughter’s serious coloring session to ask her a favor.

“Maddie, would you like to help me here?” Grey had the telephone in her hand.

Maddie gladly left the kitchen table. “Sure Momma.”

“We don’t have too much longer until the baby is ready to come, and I thought I could teach you to use the telephone in case there’s an emergency.”

Maddie was mesmerized. “Wow, I get to use phone?”

“You sure do. I preset the number for the hospital. It’s this first button here, you press that only if it’s an emergency. Do you understand?”

She nodded seriously. “Yes Momma.”

“Good girl. This second button is for Uncle Wash and Tucker. And this third one is for Uncle Simmons and Grif. If you ever need them for anything, you can call them.”

“Cool, I wanna talk to Mira!”

“It’s only for emergencies. You can’t be bugging them with the phone.”

“But I love Uncle Simmons and Mira, I won’t be bugging them.”

“Very true, I don’t think they’d mind. Go ahead and test it out.”

Maddie carefully pressed the third button. Simmons answered on the second ring. “Hi Uncle Simmons, guess who this is!” She was giggling like crazy.

Simmons was in shock. “Maddie? How in the world can you use the phone?”

“Momma’s teaching me for when the baby comes. Can I talk to Mira? I want her to come over and play.”

“She’s outside trying to train her dog, I’ll call her in. Can I talk to your Mom for a second?”

“Yeah.” She handed off the phone. “Uncle Simmons wants you.”

“Hey Simms, what do you think of my little genius here?”

“That’s great that she can learn it that fast. Are you sure you want Mira to come over?”

“Sure I’m sure, she’s welcome any time. I actually could really use her help. If she could play with the girls for me, I can get some of the nursery straightened up.”

“You know you need to careful in your condition.”

“Oh lord, you sound just like ‘Lina.”

“I have today off, how about if I bring Mira over to play and I can help you with whatever you need. I’d feel better that way.”

“Alrightee Simms, I’ll be happy to some company. I’ll see you soon.”

By the time Simmons arrived with Mira, Allie’s bed was delivered. She had Maddie checked out the packaging, trying to figure out what it was. Grey had to shoo them away.

Maddie started whining. “But what’s in it Momma?”

“You’ll see later, it’s a big surprise. I don’t want to spill the news before it’s time. How about you girls play while Simms and I get started?”

Mira perked up. “Can we play dress up with your old dresses again?”

“Sure, you can play with ever you want to from my closet.” She turned to Simmons. “Now we’ll have a chance to assemble that bed before Allie figures it out.”

“Is it a good idea to just surprise her?

“Of course, Allie loves surprises.”

“Are you sure? She’s a lot like Mira was at that age. You may be in for an epic temper tantrum.”

Grey stopped and then shrugged it off. “Well, I’ll deal with that later. Let’s get that crib moved.”

Simmons carefully set it up in the corner of the nursery. As a newborn, the baby would be using a blue bassinet. “Have you thought of any names yet?”

Grey fluffed a small blue pillow. “Oh yeah, his name is Donald, after General Doyle. He was like a dad to me, I had to do something special to remember him by.”

“That’s nice, he was a good general there in the end.” He noticed Grey bend over and wince from a sharp pain. “You okay there?”

She took in a deep breath and stood up straight. “Yeah, I am now. That was a really sharp kick, he’s an active baby.”

“You’re sure it’s not a contraction?” He looked scared.

“Nah, it’s more like the false labor pain, like you had when you were having Dex. You got me down to the hospital three times over nothing.”

Simmons blushed. “Sorry, I didn’t know the difference.” He looked around the room. “Wow, looks like we’re finished, that didn’t take long.”

She whacked him in the shoulder, it made him wince. “We make a good team Simms. I better go check those girls, they’re being way too quiet.” She opened her bedroom. “Ready or not, here I come…oh no!”

Mira gasped. “Uh-oh, we’re in trouble now.” For the time, Maddie looked afraid of her Mom.

Simmons panicked when he saw the sight. “What did you girls get into?”

Mira was quiet. “Uhh, Allie wanted dressed up, so Maddie and me decorated her.”

The little girl was wearing a large dress and a floppy hat. Her makeup looked like clown makeup. Her foundation almost looked white, she had two bright pink circles for blush and had on so much eyeshadow, she could hardly see. Her red lipstick was smeared over her lips.

She smiled. “I look so pretty!”

Simmons was horrified. “Mira, how could you?”

Grey stepped closer to them, her face looked angry. “Mira Kai, what’s wrong with you?” She picked up the tube of lipstick. “You forgot a spot on Allie’s face.” She booped a red dot on her nose. “Now her makeup is complete!”

All three girls giggled. Maddie looked relieved. Grey reached over to pat her shoulder.

“It’s okay sweetie pie, I’d never get mad at you guys.” Simmons looked at her like she was insane. “Well Miss Allie, would you like to see your surprise?”

She gasped. “For me?”

“Yes, for you. C’mon Little Sprout.” She opened Allie’s bedroom door. “Ta-da, check out the new big girl bed.”

Allie’s face crumpled up. “Where’s my crib?”

“It’s going for your little brother. This is your new bed.”

“No, I don’t want it. You give all my stuff to the baby.”

“Only the baby toys that you don’t play with anymore.”

“No, you’ll get rid of me next. You don’t like me no more!” She ran to hide in Maddie’s room. Her loud sobbing could be heard through the slammed door.

“My goodness, this didn’t go quite the way I hoped.”

She had the sinking feeling that Allie would never accept this new baby…


	11. Chapter 11

Later that night, Carolina spent an hour rocking with Allie, trying to comfort her. Her crying wouldn’t stop.

“Hush now honey, you know you’re not being replaced with the new baby.”

Allie’s cheeks were tearstained. “I know you won’t, but Momma will.”

“She would not do any such thing.” Between work and now thanks to her wife’s rash decision, Carolina was worn out. She hoped Allie would give up and go to sleep, but there was no such luck.

She leaned her head against Carolina’s shoulder. She was getting sleepy. “I want Momma.”

“Alright then, she’d be happy to put you to bed.”

“No, she doesn’t like me no more.” She cried harder.

Carolina groaned, this night wound never end. “Oh Allison, why are you so stubborn? It’s time for bed.” She carried her to her new bed and went to tuck her in. Allie tried to squirm away, but she was no match for the former Freelancer.

“No Mommy, it’s not bed! Momma gave my real bed away, now she wants to give me away!” She tried to cling to Carolina.

Looking at the hurt look on Allie’s face made Carolina ache. She wanted to scoop her up and never let her go. Instead, she continued to tuck her under her bright, rainbow covered bedspread. She couldn’t baby her like Emily did.

“You know your Momma and I love you very much, you’ll feel better once you get used to all the changes. Having a little brother won’t be so bad at all.”

“No I won’t.” Allie refused to give up, she reached come more time for Carolina.

She had to back away to the door. “Good night Allie.”

Emily had finished putting Maddie and Epsilon to bed. She looked so pale and exhausted that Carolina didn’t have the heart to yell at her for traumatizing Allie. She didn’t have to, Emily was busy blaming herself.

“I know, I know, I know, this is all my fault. I was trying to do a good thing here.”

Carolina put her arm around her. “I know that Em, that’s why I’m not yelling, but for a certified genius, sometimes, you don’t think. Allie and Maddie have been through a lot, they can’t handle changes easily.”

Emily took in a sharp breath and looked like she would collapse. Carolina looked scared, but after a few seconds, Emily stopped her. “No, it’s okay, the baby kicked. Guess he’s mad at me too. There’s no way I’m going to sleep until I make this right with Allie.”

“Emily, she’s not exactly happy with you.”

“True, but for the first time in a while, I’m using my super power IQ. I think I can talk some sense into her.” Carolina looked doubtful, but she let her go.

Emily gently pushed open Allie’s door. Through the nightlight, she could see that the child was almost asleep, but she was still awake. Good, she was easier to reason with when she was tired. This was Emily’s one chance.

She sat at the edge of her bed and gently took her hand. “Hi there my precious little sprout. I want to apologize for today.”

“No! You gave all my stuff away.” Even when she was tired, she wouldn’t give up. Emily admired that about her.

“That wasn’t what I intended on doing. You’re getting to be such a big girl now. Your crib and toys are for little babies, like the little brother you’re getting.”

Her face was still in a stubborn pout.

“Your brother is coming into a strange place and with people he doesn’t know. When we brought you home, Maddie gave you all of her old toys to make you feel welcome. Don’t you want to do the same for him?”

She thought about it. “No.”

Emily wouldn’t give up. “Ookaaay…Another point you don’t realize is that your new bed and toys are reflective of your personality. “

Now Allie looked confused.

“Maddie loves pink and princesses, and she acts like a sweet little princess. That’s why she has the pink canopy bed and lots of pink for her room. Now that you’re a big girl, I know you’re energetic and colorful, just like the bright rainbows I picked out for you. You’re my little firecracker that makes life fun.”

Now she had Allie’s attention. “You really still do like me?”

“Of course I do, I never stopped liking you. I love you. You are as strong willed as your Mother is, you have a mind of your own; I love all that about you.” She teasingly kissed her cheek a few times.

Allie struggled to keep her bad mood, but she wanted to smile. “Do you really, really like me?”

Emily felt better when she saw that grin.“Really, really, really times infinity. How’s that?”

Allie started giggling. “‘Kay Momma.”

“I don’t want to press my luck, but what about the baby? What’d ya say, can you be an awesome big sister like Maddie?”

She thought a while. “Maybe.” She looked so serious about it.

Emily started to relax, ‘maybe’ was better than ‘no’, she would take it. “Thank you little sprout, I appreciate that you’re willing to try.” She started to get up from the bed. Allie’s little hands grabbed her arm.

“No Momma, I’m lonely. Stay with me.”

She smiled at her youngest daughter as she cuddled her close. “Sure honey, Momma’s here for you.”

As they both drifted off to sleep, Emily felt so much better. Who knows, maybe this little family could make it after all.


	12. Chapter 12

“Allison Caroline, if you don’t take your afternoon nap, you are missing your sister’s birthday party!”

Carolina had been fighting with Allie for almost twenty minutes, the hyper child still kept trying to climb out of her bed. “But Mommy, I wanna help with the party!”

“If you want to help, then you have to take your nap, you are crabby already. Your Mom’s not feeling too well today, we have to do our parts to help her out.”

“Can I have a birthday gift today too?”

Carolina sighed. “Yes, there are party gifts for all the kids, you get one too.”

“Yay, okay Mommy, I can go nap.”

Carolina was worn out. “Thank goodness, I didn’t think she’d ever go to sleep.” She passed by Maddie’s room, she could have sworn she heard a slight sniffling noise. Could Maddie be crying? She poked her head in the room.

“Hey Maddie, what’s wrong sweetie?”

Maddie looked up at her with tears streaming down her face. She was already wearing her new pink party dress, but her blond hair was still a mess of curls.

“I can’t get my hair tied right for my party.” Two new tears slid down her cheeks.

Carolina looked confused. “Do you mean braids in your hair?”

She nodded her head miserably. Carolina gently took her messy curls and tried her best. Her results were disappointing, she never bothered braiding her bright red hair. She always pulled it back into a ponytail and called it done. She was never very girlie, even as a girl. Maddie cried harder than ever.

“Honey, does it have to be braids? I can pull it back into some cute pigtails. What do you think of that?”

Maddie shook her head. “No, it has to be ties. I don’t wanna be made fun of at my party.” She looked so sad.

“Who in the world will make fun of you? It’s all going to be family and friends. None of us care what your hair looks like.”

She looked down at the floor. “I don’t have no friends.”

“Of course you do. Your Momma invited all the kids from your daycare.”

“They aren’t my friends, no one there likes me.”

Carolina frowned, this wasn’t the first time Maddie mentioned this. “Is that older kid still bullying you?”

“No Mommy, he won’t be mean since I take Epseelon to school with me.” She stopped short, she had a hard time talking about her feelings.

Carolina lifted Maddie’s face to look at her. “Honey, I know you don’t like talking too much, but this is me you’re talking to. You know you can tell me everything.”

Maddie’s voice was so tiny. “All the kids wanna play with my Epseelon, they say I’m too quiet, so they don’t like me.”

She looked so sad, Carolina’s heart ached for her. Having autism and being abused made it hard for Maddie to trust people enough to talk to them. The little girl still didn’t have a lot of confidence in herself.

“Don’t forget though you’ll have your best friends, David and Mira, to play with. You’re never quiet around those two. And you’ll have your sister and your Mom around, they won’t ignore you. And don’t forget about me, I love hanging out with you. So why do you think that you have no friends?”

Maddie gave a little smile, but it didn’t look too convincing. Carolina reached into her pocket. “I should wait until your party to give you this, but I think you need it now.”

She held up a pair of military dog tags to show Maddie. She gasped with surprise as she reached out to touch them. “They’re so pretty.”

“Yes they are. They were Mother’s when she was in the military. She gave them to me when I was six years old, and now, I’m giving them to you.”

“Wow, that’s neat!” She looked so proud when Carolina slipped them around her neck.

“Now Maddie, these aren’t a toy and I don’t want you to lose them, they’re only for special occasions. Whenever you feel lonely, lost or sad, you pull these out, and they’ll give you the confidence you need to get past any problem. I’ve been using them to help give me strength for years.”

“Then I can be strong like you?”

Carolina smiled, Maddie didn’t quite understand yet, but one day she would. Right now, she was happy. “Sure can, that’s the right way to start. I’m sorry about your hair, let’s go see if your Mom can braid it for you.”

“‘K Mommy.” She and Epsilon cheerfully followed Carolina out to the kitchen.

They found Grey manically planning the party. There were decorations, packages of hamburger and hotdog buns, and bags of chips all over the place. Grey was seven months along, she spent most of the morning being stuck in bed with no energy to get up. Now just two hours later, she running around like nothing was wrong. She smiled at Carolina and Maddie.

“Oh hello guys, you came out in perfect timing. Donut was supposed to be here half an hour to decorate and he’s bringing the cake. Maddie dear, I need you to help organize the chips” She thrust a shopping list in Carolina’s face. “I need you to run out and pick up a few more things.”

Carolina glared softly at her. “Em, just this morning you were too sick to move, now you’re going crazy… shouldn’t you sit down and let me handle this?”

“Ah phooey, I only had touch of morning sickness, it’s gone now. But here’s some things that if we don’t have for the party, it will be completely ruined.”

Carolina read over the list. “Okay, I understand getting chocolate and vanilla ice cream, but what’s with this coffee and rum raisin flavored ice cream. You can’t serve that to kids.”

“Oh of course not. Those are for the adults, silly.” She turned and tripped over Epsilon for the third time. “Epsilon, I really love you, but you’re getting in the way. ‘Lina, when you go, put him out in his exercise pen for me.”

Maddie looked worried. “No Momma, he doesn’t like it when we’re not with him. He’ll be sad.”

“It’s not for very long, I promise. We need more room in here.”

Maddie still looked sad as Carolina left with her dog. She took ahold of her dog tags and she felt better. “Momma, can you tie my hair for me?”

Grey knew what she meant. “Sure can sweetie pie, but first, we gotta get these chips ready to take out to the picnic tables.” She took a large bowl, it wasn’t quite big enough. “I don’t know Maddie, do you think this bowl will work?”

“No Momma, we need a bigger one. The party has to be perfect.” Maddie was getting whiny.

“Okay, okay, I’ll get one.” The only other large bowl was way up in the cupboard. Grey didn’t stop to think. She grabbed a kitchen chair and clumsily climbed up. “Woah, I forgot about the baby, my center of gravity is kinda shifted.”

She carefully got the bowl and handed it down to Maddie. “Thank you Momma.” She was all happy.

Grey went to climb down, her foot slipped a little on the chair. Before she knew it, she crashed to the floor. Maddie let out a scream.

Grey tried to get up to tell her it was okay… that was the pain hit her. She screamed as loud as Maddie did. She was going into labor with no one but her daughter around to help. She didn’t even know if Maddie would remember her emergency training.

“Oh no, Maddie help me, the baby’s coming.” A second pain shot through her, it was really labor.

Grey’s head was spinning. “Oh god, please let me be alright for my kids…” Everything was getting dark…


End file.
